Wheels come off Mario Kart Tour launch

31 JAN 2019

Nintendo delayed the launch of its next mobile game, Mario Kart Tour, by several months to ensure it meets the company’s quality standards.

In a statement, the company said the game’s debut would take place sometime around the middle of the year, with the additional time being used to “improve quality of the application and expand the content offerings”.

“As we endeavour to develop future planned applications, we will also focus on continued service operations for applications that have already been released so that consumers can enjoy playing them for a long time,” it added.

Bloomberg quoted research company Newzoo analyst Jelle Kooistra as saying the Mario Kart franchise “has more mainstream appeal than any other Nintendo title, and its fast-paced gameplay is a great fit for mobile,” with the potential to generate annual revenue of $1 billion.

Nintendo detailed the postponement as it revealed financials for Q4 2018.

Mobile revenue for the quarter was JPY14.6 billion ($134.2 million), up 31 per cent. This was driven by its latest game Dragalia Lost, which debuted at the end of Q3 2018. Sensor Tower estimated it pulled in JPY6 billion in Q4.

Overall operating profit of JPY158.6 billion was up 36 per cent year-on year, with Reuters noting it was the highest in nine years.